Barbara Schroeder

Skip the Stuff: No More Plastic Take-Out Waste

In our 19th episode of Climate Check: Stories and Solutions, Raine Manley tells the story of her journey from frustration to activism as she tackles plastic waste here in New York City. The outcome? NYC passed “Skip the Stuff,” a law in NYC that requires restaurants and food delivery apps to leave out the single-use…

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People vs Fossil Fuels

In this episode of Climate Chat, Eva is joined by Molly Morabito of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. Molly discusses the People vs Fossil Fuels coalition and its demands for how the Biden Administration should address the climate emergency. A September UN summit on Climate Change will take place in NYC, and…

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From Gas to Green: the NY HEAT Act

Most New Yorkers don’t know that they’re footing the bill for expanding the dirty gas infrastructure that runs all across our state. The NY HEAT (the New York Home Energy and Affordable Transition) Act would end this practice along with several others that are allowing New York’s utility companies to stay out of step with…

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Legislation Lightning Round: Dirty Water, E-bikes, and How Bills Get Passed

Today’s episode contains more of the conversation between Eva and NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, representative of Greenpoint and parts of Williamsburg. They discuss the Newtown Creek Superfund site, the Water Bill Fairness Act, and the Clean Rebate Program for electric bikes and scooters. Emily also gives us a quick civics 101 on how bills…

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Greener, Cleaner Construction: The All-Electrictic Building Act

NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher is the sponsor of the All-Electric Building Act, legislation that would require all new buildings to forego fossil fuel heating and cooking systems in favor of electric. NYC passed similar legislation in 2021, but this bill would apply to the entire state. Eva and Emily discuss how this can become…

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Empowering our Power: Navigating Solar Energy in New York

Solar One is leading the charge when it comes to proving equitable, affordable, renewable energy to all. In this month’s episode, Angelica Ramdhari, Director of Resilient Solar at Solar One, guides us through the state of play of Solar in New York City: from the contentious nature of greening brownstones, to the ABCD(BG-DR)s of resilient…

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Energy Efficient Buildings: How Local Law 97 Can Change NYC Forever

Pete Sikora knows that climate justice and housing justice are two sides of the same coin. That’s why he sees Local Law 97 as a unique opportunity to cut the largest source emissions in New York State, while creating fair-wage jobs, and holding real estate owners accountable for their buildings’ pollution. On this month’s episode, Pete…

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Climate, Jobs, and Justice

For our December episode, Xaver Kandler, Campaigns Coordinator for NY Renews, walks us through the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package — a series of proposed bills for 2023 that builds on New York State’s historic Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). These bills were developed by New York Renews, a broad coalition of hundreds…

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Renewable Rikers and the Quest for Justice

In February of 2021, the NYC City Council passed laws that will reshape Rikers, the island off the coast of Queens that is a penal colony built on landfill. These bills are part of a campaign called Renewable Rikers, and was years in the making by a coalition that crossed interests and focus areas.  …

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The Inflation Reduction Act: “It Really is Historic”

In this episode, Eva talks with Liz Moran about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its many environmental and climate provisions. Liz is the Policy Advocate for New York at Earth Justice, the public interest environmental law firm. She gives us a broad picture of the law, walking us through much of the good the law will do in…

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